What are YOUR top ten DVDs of 2004? (1 Viewer)

[Joseph Bolus]

Here's my top Ten for 2004 (and what a great year it was!):

1. Star Wars Trilogy - Ever since I purchased my first DVD player in November 1998 I've longed for these on DVD. While I would have liked the opportunity to also purchase the "Original" Originals, these spruced-up versions are at least presented in a pristine (actually, ESB is "eye-popping!") fashion. And the extras are actually better than I expected for this release.

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King EE - As good as the original theatrical edition was, this extended edition is immediately my preferred method of viewing the movie. As expected, the extras are great as well.

3. Gone With the Wind - Four Disc Deluxe Edition A great classic, now provided with the Deluxe Treatment on DVD.

4. Disney's Aladdin Platinum Edition - If it seems as though we've waited forever for this great animated movie on DVD, we have! This is the first time this highly enjoyable movie has ever been available on DVD.

5. Star Trek: The Original Series - Seasons One, Two, and Three - Finally! The classic of all Sci-Fi TV classics is now available in Season Sets on DVD (and with decent extras, to boot!)

6. Spider-Man 2 - Probably the best superhero sequel since Superman II.

7. Around the World in 80 Days (the original) - Ah! We can now wallow in the delicious excess of this "travelouge" movie, with a transfer to DVD that looks better than most people thought possible.

8. Knight Rider/Magnum P.I./The A-Team/Columbo Season One boxes - Long awaited TV series make their debut to the format.

9. Seinfeld Seasons One - Three - A great DVD set .. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda!

10. Farscape Starburst Edition - Volume One - This two double-sided DVD set really surprised me! It includes the first 7 episodes of the abortive series, with commentary tracks for most; along with an abundance of documentaries on the second side of the second disc, including one that deals with the entire series. All of this for $19.95!! Finally, an inexpensive method of collecting Farscape on DVD!

 

[Mikya]

My picks in some semblance of order, ranking being an unweighted mix of my personal estimation of release quality and film enjoyment.

The Top Ten:

01. Gone with the Wind (4DSE)
02. Meet Me in St. Louis (2DSE)
03. Goodbye Mr. Chips
04. Out of the Past (Warner Noir Collection)
05. The Big Clock (MGM Noir Collection)
06. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Hitchcock Collection)
07. Tarzan and His Mate (Tarzan Collection)
08. Around the World in 80 Days (2DSE)
09. The Chinese Cat (Chanthology)
10. The Ladies' Man (Jerry Lewis Collection)

Very Honorable Mentions:

My Fair Lady (2DSE)
Damn Yankees
The Mummy/Invisible Man (Universal Monster Collections)

 

[Mike D]

Seems a good place to collect any external Top Tens as well. If you know of others please add them.

DVD Talk's Top Twenty DVDs of 2004 [comments and related lists

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Extended Edition
2. Star Wars Trilogy
3. The Ultimate Matrix Collection
4. Panic Room: 3-Disc Special Edition
5. Clerks X: 10th Anniversary Collector's Series
6. Gone with the Wind: 4-Disc Collector's Edition
7. Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2 and Season 3
8. Spider-Man 2
9. Freaks and Geeks: Fan Yearbook Edition
10. Ed Wood: Special Edition
11. Reno 911: The Complete First Season
12. The Wire: The Complete First Season
13. M: Criterion Collection
14. Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection
15. Ikiru: Criterion Collection
16. The Iron Giant: Special Edition
17. Dawn of the Dead: Ultimate Edition
18. The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Extended Version Collector's Set
19. Touching The Void
20. The West Wing: Season 2 and Season 3


DVD Authority Editor's Picks [comments

1. GoodFellas: Two Disc Special Edition
2. The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season
3. The Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore Collection
4. Survivor: Borneo
5. Blazing Saddles: Special Edition
6. Seinfeld: Seasons 1-3
7. Star Wars Trilogy
8. The Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition
9. The Ultimate Matrix Box Set
10. La Dolce Vita: Special Edition

Honorable Mentions: Top Gun: Special Collector's Edition, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - Extended Edition, Panic Room: Special Edition, My Fair Lady: Special Edition, Gone With the Wind: Special Edition, Meet Me in St. Louis: Special Edition, Slacker: Criterion Collection


DVD Journal [comments

1. The Rules of the Game : The Criterion Collection
2. The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection
3. La Dolce Vita: Collector's Edition
4. Open Range
5. Blowup
6. Ed Wood
7. Touching the Void
8. The Leopard: The Criterion Collection
9. M: The Criterion Collection
10. The Girl Next Door

 

[WarrenM]

My top 10 list;


01) Short Cuts: Criterion Collection
02) Wild at Heart
03) Fat Girl: Criterion Collection
04) Martin Scorsese Collection
05) Oldboy SE (R3)
06) Zatoichi/Sonatine
07) The Saddest Music in the World
08) Santa Sangre (R2)
09) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
10) Love Actually

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Hey, I just put together a feature called My 25 Favorite DVDs of 2004...plus a lot of excess rambling. OK, "just" isn't exactly right, since the stupid article took me like four hours to write.

But hey, it's my birthday. Humor me.

Hope you like it.

 

[rich_d]

My son's birthday as well and mine is close at hand so we all can speak to what it is like to have a birthday close to Christmas.

Happy Birthday.

P.S. I enjoyed your write-up.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Great list Scott and enjoyable to read!

 

[Mike D]

More links..

DVD Movie Central Awards 2004

Masters of Cinema DVD of the Year Award

LA Weekly top DVD box sets

The Village Voice 5 Best DVD sets

Entertainment Weekly Ten Best DVDs

Rolling Stone's Year's Best DVDs

Barnes & Noble

Borders

 

[Vincent_P]

Based on what I've seen, these are my faves of the year:

FANNY & ALEXANDER 5-disc set Criterion

THE RETURN OF THE KING 4-disc Extended Edition

DAWN OF THE DEAD Ultimate Collection 4-disc set

CLERKS X 3-disc set

VIDEODROME 2-disc set Criterion*

EYES WITHOUT A FACE Criterion

STAR WARS TRILOGY

THE MARTIN SCORSESE COLLECTION

STRANGERS WITH CANDY 2-disc set Season 3

CHRISTINE Special Edition

Oh, and Paul, re: this:

"Dawn of the Dead (2004)... the directors cut was a nice thought (even though I still can't tell what's new from the theatrical version)."

Just look for all the black dirt swimming through the image, and you'll be able to recognize the "Director's Cut" additions immediately.

Vincent

* Which also gets my vote for best DVD artwork of the year

 

[Tony-B]

No particular order:

Clerks X
Dr. Strangelove 40th Anniversary
Star Wars
Spider-Man 2
Predator
Larry The Cable Guy: Git-R-Done (Nothing really special as far as the DVD goes, but Larry is so fucking hilarious!!)
Simpsons sets
Chimaira: The Dehumanizing Process (Very interesting documentary about one of the best current heavy metal bands)
Gone With The Wind
The bonus DVD from Nirvana's With The Lights Out box set

Honorable mention: FahrenHYPE 9/11

 

[Runar_R]

In no particular order

Walt Disney Treasures: On the front lines

Fog of war

Film Noir Classic Collection

Martin Scorsese Collection

Star Wars Trilogy

Aladdin Platinum edition

Control Room

Battle of Algiers Criterion

Short Cuts Criterion

LOTR:ROTK Platinum

 

[rich_d]

The New York Times link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/31/mo...d=1&oref=login

As this site requires membership, I'll report the titles but leave off the reviews ... seems like a reasonable balance ...

'ALFRED HITCHCOCK SIGNATURE COLLECTION'
'DAWN OF THE DEAD ULTIMATE EDITION'
'FILM NOIR CLASSIC COLLECTION'
'FRITZ LANG EPIC COLLECTION'
'JERRY LEWIS COLLECTION'
'JOHN CASSAVETES: FIVE FILMS'
'JUDEX'
'L'ÂGE D'OR'
'LA DOLCE VITA'
'LEGONG - DANCE OF THE VIRGINS'
'THE LEOPARD'
'LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION, VOL. 2'
'MARX BROTHERS SILVER SCREEN COLLECTION'
'MONSTER LEGACY COLLECTION VOL. 1' (Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man); 'VOL. 2' (the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon)
'THE OFFICE - THE COMPLETE COLLECTION'
'OUTSKIRTS/THE GIRL WITH THE HATBOX'
'SCTV VOL. 1 AND 2'
'SEINFELD: SEASONS 1 & 2, SEASON 3'
'STAR WARS TRILOGY'
'YAKUZA PAPERS'

 

[SteveGon]

Also wanted to mention The Yakuza Papers boxed set which I just picked up. Haven't watched it yet, but it looks fantastic.

Another mention goes to the release of Luis Bunuel's Robinson Crusoe, which has never had a home video release until now. A good film on a decent DVD; a must-see for film buffs.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

From the DVD Authority List


I don't see what makes this the third best release of the year. I have this collection, and its alright but IMO not a top 3 release.

 

[Tony-B]

Casey, it's Happy Gilmore in widescreen. There is no other reason!

 

[Mike D]

Just throwing up a few more links for posterity..

DVDFile Top Ten
Hollywood Reporter Top Ten
Movie City News DVD Year in Review
Combustible Celluloid Top Ten
CHUD Top 15
About.com Top Ten
Associated Press c/o MSNBC.com Top Tens
Boston Globe Top Ten
Hampton Roads Top Ten
JAM!
Channel 4 (UK) Top 30
FutureMovies (UK) Top 5
DVD Times (UK): Michael Mackenzie / D.J. Nock / Colin Polonowski / Mike Sutton / Noel Megahey

[added]
DVD Movie Guide Top Ten
Not Coming to a Theater Near You Top Ten

 

[Mike D]

RESULTS!

Times mentioned in member's lists or honorable mentions (offsite lists not included)...

53Star Wars Trilogy
51Return of the King EE
28Gone With the Wind
26Spider-man 2
18Aladdin
17Master and Commander
15Matrix Ultimate Collection
15Seinfeld
14Loony Tunes Vol. 2
13The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
13Goodfellas: Special Edition
12Dawn of the Dead: Ultimate Edition
12The Simpsons
11Kill Bill
11Walt Disney Treasures
10Clerks: X
10Dawn of the Dead: Unrated Director’s Cut (2004)
10THX-1138
8Arrested Development
8Film Noir Collection
8Hellboy: Director's Cut
8Meet Me in St. Louis
7Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection
7The Battle of Algiers
7The Passion of the Christ
6Around the World in 80 Days
6Futurama
6The Iron Giant
6Schindler's List
6The Shawshank Redemption
6Short Cuts
5Blazing Saddles
5Freaks
5Freaks and Geeks
5Ikiru
5Panic Room

I'll cut off at 5 for the top 36 DVDs of 2004

 

[Justin_S]

1: Videodrome Criterion
2: The Rapture
3: Wild at Heart
4: Onibaba Criterion
5: The Butterfly Effect
6: The Deadly Spawn
7: Dawn of the Dead ultimate edition
8: Hellraiser puzzle box set (R2)
9: Flesh + Blood
10: Christine SE

Cabin Fever would make the list if it were uncut.

 

[John Sullmeyer]

How about top 7?

1. Return of the King - EE
Another home run from New Line. Now lets hope they do the Hobbit. I would tripple dip if they did another cut with more gore.

2. Clerks X
Liked the documentary and this was a first time purchase of this film for me, so I lucked out on the transfer.

3. Kill Bill I & II
Greate films. Not so great extras.

4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Awesome film, and one of my all time favs. Better extras would have been nice.

5. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk WIth Me Region 2 by MK2
I know it's Region 2, but the audio is FIXED. New Line dropped the ball on this one when they opted for no Deleted Scenes and screwed with the original Audio mix. (Lynch claims he matched the Theatrical mix prior to handing it off to New Line) This one also has no deleted scenes, but the audio mix is just awesome and matches the original Theatrical mix.


6. Wild at Heart - Finally this DVD is out. Now hopefully when the Robert Blake murder trial blws over we'll see Lost Highway. Very good extras, but no Deleted Scenes, which would have made this disc perfect.

7. Napoleon Dynamite - Go buy this now.

 

[Mario Gauci]

My Top 10 DVD releases for the year 2004 (out of the 60 contenders I've watched) are the following:


10) Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Two [Warner; 4-Disc Set] –the initial “Looney Tunes” set was one of 2003’s top releases: the second instalment proved to be just as good and possibly even better, despite a scarcity of appearances from some of my favorite cartoon characters (Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam); along with Disney, Warners are spearheading the way animated films should be treated on the DVD format.

9) A Night At The Opera (1935) [Warner] – the Marxes’ predecessor to RACES is another comedy classic and almost its equal: a real pity that the full-length, uncensored version seems to be gone forever; this has been a great year for the Marx Bros., what with ALL of their feature films finding their way onto DVD!

8) A Day At The Races (1937) [Warner] – despite the occasional intrusion of MGM’s opulent production values, this remains quite possibly their most satisfying film for the studio; thankfully, Warners responded with a fitting Special Edition.

7) Diary Of A Country Priest (1951) [Criterion] – despite the relative lack of supplements, virtually the only Bresson to be done right on DVD so far, at least in R1; the depiction of one (misunderstood) man’s ‘calvary’ through simple yet beautiful images, and thought-provoking scenes of quiet despair, confirmation of faith, and the agony of impending death, this emerges as a truly absorbing and moving piece of work.

6) My Darling Clementine (1946) [Fox] – a landmark in both John Ford’s career and the western genre, and Fox delivers no less than a winner, what with the happy inclusion of the rarely seen and slightly longer Pre-release Version…which I actually preferred!

5) The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse (1933) [Criterion; 2-Disc Set] – one of the few Fritz Lang greats which had so far eluded me, and I never expected to watch it via such a magnificent release (from Criterion, no less) brimming with choice supplements, not the least of which was the tighter French-language version shot simultaneously by the director.

4) Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1931 & 1941 Versions) [Warner] – the first is still the finest adaptation of the story and one of the greatest horror films ever made, period; I hadn’t watched the latter in years and was quite impressed by it this time around: lush presentation, thoughtful script, excellent performances, all in all, a worthy companion to the earlier Barrymore and March versions.

3) Sunrise - A Song Of Two Humans (1927) [Eureka; 2-Disc Set] – one of silent cinema’s supreme achievements is also something of a standard in how these films should be presented on DVD; the addition of the lost FOUR DEVILS (1928) in the form of a reconstruction and its original screenplay is merely the icing on the cake.

2) Un Chien Andalou (1929)/L'Age D'Or (1930) [BFI; 2-Disc Set] – Luis Bunuel’s early surrealist classics are added to his DVD filmography in the form of a simple yet beautifully designed package; Robert Short’s comments tend towards the highbrow but this only reinforces just how complex and open to different interpretations these two pictures remain!

1) The Rules Of The Game (1939) [Criterion; 2-Disc Set] – one of the few series contenders to CITIZEN KANE (1941) for the title of the greatest film ever made unsurprisingly receives the royal treatment from the finest DVD company around.